REVIEW - SONG BY RANTERS THEATRE

WHAT – SONG BY RANTERS THEATRE.

Where and When – ARTS HOUSE – NORTH MELBOURNE TOWN HALL – FRIDAY 12 – SUNDAY 21 APRIL, 2013.

Reviewer - Joe Calleri.
Stars – 3.

SONG - IMAGE SUPPLIED.

Full Disclosure - I attended the opening night of this production on a complimentary ticket as the guest of a media invitee.

From the outset, let me say that, SONG, conceived and produced by Adriano Cortese, with a visual concept by designer Laura Lima, is a very unusual theatrical experience that will not appeal to everyone. Part group meditation, part high concept performance piece, part musical piece, it’s difficult to pigeon-hole.

Upon entering the Town Hall performance space, audience members can choose to sit on small deck chairs, lay on blankets or sit on long pieces of astro turf.

We gaze at a large, circular, tambourine-type structure, hanging from the Town Hall’s ceiling. Gradually, the lights dim, while the light emitting from the structure intensifies, accompanied by live music from Paul Lum, Patrick Moffatt, James Tyson, and a subtle forest environment sound-scape created by David Franzke. We could easily be in a scene from the sci-fi classic film, 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s almost as if we wait for God himself / herself to appear in the space.

The portentous, discordant lyrics written by James Tyson, with text by Raimondo Cortese, often sound as if they are lifted from a text book and put to music. They do not, however, distract from the quiet meditative experience we are experiencing in a space that is warm, safe, all-encompassing. As nothing of note or significance is happening around us, I found myself thinking, dreaming while awake, and reminiscing. Positive, pleasant thoughts and memories, however.

Heightening the sublime sound and light-scape experience are the many fragrances that have been created by George Kara. I could swear I smelt burnt toast at one point during the performance. This is likely the first show I have attended in which a dedicated perfumer was part of the creative team.

If you have ever attended and enjoyed group meditation sessions, or listened to subliminal recordings where the words or message are deliberately buried under sounds of rain (and there is a small, but ineffectual rain machine incorporated into the piece), rushing streams, birds, or other various sounds of nature, then you will feel at peace and at home, for the one hour running time of this unusual piece, inside the Town Hall space.